# When is your daily "downtime"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 19, 2008, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-your-daily-downtime/457007 "2008-07-19T00:40:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2008, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-your-daily-downtime/457007/1 "2008-07-19T00:40:16Z")
Ever since I was very young, my energy, mood, and interest levels slump from 2-4pm. Whenever my schedule permits I spend these two hours reading, napping, watching TV, or doing other non-energy output things. I perk up again from 4pm until bedtime (around 10pm). I dislike having to teach or do other energetic activities during these hours and have to down some caffeine to feel halfway human. I think, since I’ve experienced this all my life, that it is related to my circadian rhythms. So, do you have a downtime? Is it “hardwired” or created by your schedule? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2008, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-your-daily-downtime/457007/2 "2008-07-19T01:51:42Z")
Are you me? My daily downtime is also between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. Unfortunately, I can’t have caffeine, so I just try to muddle through it as best I can. At work, I often don’t take lunch until 1:30 or 2:00 so that at least I get a break during that time. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2008, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-your-daily-downtime/457007/3 "2008-07-19T18:05:30Z")
[QUOTE=SpoilerVirgin] Are you me? My daily downtime is also between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. Unfortunately, I can’t have caffeine, so I just try to muddle through it as best I can. At work, I often don’t take lunch until 1:30 or 2:00 so that at least I get a break during that time. [/QUOTE] Perhaps I am . . . haven’t felt myself today 😛 Have you had this “downtime” since you were a kid? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-your-daily-downtime/457007/4 "2008-07-19T18:09:41Z")
Mine is around 2 pm and around 7 pm. If I lie down at these times, I am guaranteed to nap. I try not to nap at my 7 pm downtime, because it interferes with sleeping at night more than an afternoon nap, I find. I don’t think I’ve had these since I was a kid - certainly since I was a teenager, though. Although I recall, as a teenager, being tired constantly. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2008, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-your-daily-downtime/457007/5 "2008-07-20T00:09:44Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] Mine is around 2 pm and around 7 pm. If I lie down at these times, I am guaranteed to nap. I try not to nap at my 7 pm downtime, because it interferes with sleeping at night more than an afternoon nap, I find. I don’t think I’ve had these since I was a kid - certainly since I was a teenager, though. Although I recall, as a teenager, being tired constantly. [/QUOTE] Yowch! That’s a long span to feel drowsy. I was also exhausted as a teen, but I attribute it to 4:30am basketball practice (the only time the girls’ basketball team was “allowed” to schedule the gym :mad: ). ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2008, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-your-daily-downtime/457007/6 "2008-07-20T01:02:37Z")
I’d love to know. When teaching, I just push on through on a mix of caffeine and adrenalin, until finishing at between 4 and 7pm on a normal day and anything up to midnight at times. At the end of that I slump BIG. When not working, I have so little routine that I can’t tell you when I normally am awake or asleep 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2008, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-your-daily-downtime/457007/7 "2008-07-20T04:45:12Z")
[QUOTE=Jennshark] Yowch! That’s a long span to feel drowsy.\ [/QUOTE] No, I feel drowsy at 2 AND 7, not from 2 to 7. I was sitting in my warm living room this evening at around 7, with the fan blowing, reading a book, and it was almost physically painful to stay awake (I did have a small nap - hopefully not too long). ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-your-daily-downtime/457007/8 "2008-07-20T21:02:05Z")
[QUOTE=Jennshark] Have you had this “downtime” since you were a kid? [/QUOTE] I don’t think so. I’ve always needed a full eight hours of sleep each night, and operated better when I keep to a regular sleep/wake schedule, even on weekends. I don’t remember really noticing an afternoon energy drop until I started working a regular 8:30 - 5:30 workday. If I’m ever my own boss, or in a situation where I can set my own hours, I will definitely take a break from 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. On weekends and non workdays, I often take a nap at that time. ---
**Author:** ![bufftabby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@bufftabby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bufftabby)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-your-daily-downtime/457007/9 "2008-07-21T15:37:03Z")
4:20. Heh. Okay, seriously, it tends to be from 3:30 to 5:00 or so, but I generally circumvent it with a cup of coffee (preferred) or other caffeination around that time. I don’t like to have my second round of coffee before then, either, because I’ll just be tired again around 3:30. I’m not sure how long this has been the case, but it has been at least a few years. Carbs and sugar made me tired all the time before I found out I had reactive hypoglycemia, so I couldn’t pinpoint a particular time prior to that. I’m convinced I would have finished college a couple of years sooner if I had known what my problem was. I thought I was just profoundly lazy when I felt like I couldn’t get out of bed in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-your-daily-downtime/457007/10 "2008-07-21T15:41:49Z")
Mine used to be around the 2:00 to 4:00 mark, until I got my CPAP machine to manage my sleep apnea. Now I don’t feel tired at all during the day. Not even if I have a heavy lunch. Loves me my CPAP! ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-your-daily-downtime/457007/11 "2008-07-21T17:00:04Z")
I have two: the one just before noon when my brain’s starting to really need a break and more fuel; and the one right around 3:30 when I start to get really sleepy and my brain starting to sputter to a halt. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-your-daily-downtime/457007/12 "2008-07-21T17:17:25Z")
9-11 in the morning. I am barely functional during those hours, no matter how much sleep I got the night before. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-your-daily-downtime/457007/13 "2008-07-21T19:25:18Z")
Not a daily thing, but always after I have a big meal with a beer or two. Lights out time that is. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-your-daily-downtime/457007/14 "2008-07-21T20:35:55Z")
I was going to be snarky and say my downtime is from 8am-10pm … But the truth is my alertness dips even more from about 1:30-5pm. Naps are a good thing! I also try to avoid lying down at all after about 6pm so the nap doesn’t negatively affect my nighttime sleeping.